Fifty Shades of Grey: Charlie Hunnam Walked Away Because of Scheduling Conflicts — “It Was As Simple As That” (VIDEO)

The first trailer for the highly anticipated Fifty Shades of Grey screen adaptation premieres this week, but it’s been a long road to get there. Early casting shakeups led Charlie Hunnam to give up his lead role as Christian Grey to Jamie Dornan, leaving the Sons of Anarchy star heartbroken. But don’t be fooled by the media — there really was nothing more to it than scheduling conflicts.

“I don’t think people have had unchaperoned access to me since all of this went on,” Charlie told ABC News. “The CliffsNotes were exactly what we said. I couldn’t do it because of schedule. It was as simple as that.”

And if you’re disappointed that Charlie had to give up the role, don’t be. He’s still just as pumped as we are to see the movie in its final form — as disappointed as he is not to be a part of it — and has nothing but respect for the book’s author, E.L. James, especially when he hears people refer to it as “mommy porn.”

“I think people really do a disservice when they reduce it to that type of talk,” Charlie said. “What [she] actually created is a really sophisticated dynamic and presented it in a package which was accessible to people who normally would be terrified of that subject … Actually what she did was pretty brilliant.”

Well said, Charlie! And not only does he have faith that the film’s creators will do a great job bringing the book to life without him, but he knows that Jamie is a good fit for the role of Christian, too.

“I would have brought a certain rugged charm to [the role], but believe me, he’s going to do just fine,” Charlie said.